ELEANOR: A 200-MILE WALK IN SEARCH OF ENGLAND’S LOST QUEEN
WINNER OF THE SOMERSET MAUGHAM AWARD 2026
A TIMES BESTSELLER
A WATERSTONES BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2025
Macmillan | Hardback 13 November 2025 | Paperback (Pan) 6 August 2026
‘Joyous. The perfect walk through history’ – Sir Tony Robinson
In 1290, Eleanor of Castile, the beloved wife of King Edward I, died near Lincoln. Her body was carried 200 miles to Westminster Abbey, and the grieving king marked each place it rested overnight with a magnificent stone monument. These were the twelve Eleanor Crosses, the last of them at Charing Cross.
More than seven centuries later, in November and December 2024, Alice set out to walk the entire route on the same dates. Over ancient paths and modern motorways, through Grantham, Stamford, Stony Stratford and St Albans, she uncovers the extraordinary life of one of the medieval world’s most formidable queens. Along the way she meets the stonemasons, deans, artists, roofers and schoolchildren who keep Eleanor’s story alive.
Part travelogue, part history, Eleanor is a great love story and a journey through the long sweep of English history. It reveals how the crosses had surprising afterlives, and left a legacy that is still very much alive today.
The book was launched at Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey in November 2025.
PRAISE
‘Beautiful, elegiac, honest and compelling… a modern-day pilgrimage’ – Kate Mosse
‘Dazzling, alive with wit, elegance and insight’ – Rob Rinder
‘Written with energetic zest and originality by a natural storyteller’ – Charles Spencer
‘Whimsical, charming and cosy’ – Alice Winn
‘History as it should be done’ – Kate Mosse
IN THE PRESS
Alice wrote about her walk for The Telegraph, and was interviewed by The Times. She discussed the book on the Women’s Prize podcast Bookshelfie and on The Spectator’s podcast.
ORDER YOUR COPY
Bookshop.org (supports independent bookshops)
Blackwell’s: signed hardback copies with sprayed edges, with international delivery
